Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

I'm a big law corporate junior associate in a major US market (not NY). I'm doing a mix of M&A, securities (both deal work and filings), and start-up financings. Originally, I planned on lateraling to London next year. However, I am very unhappy with big law and have begun considering in-house positions.

I've read plenty of threads about the best time to leave a firm and go in house. My question is geared more towards opportunities available abroad, as most of the threads that I have looked at involve going in-house inside of the US or for a foreign company/bank with an office in the US. I am looking for advice from people who have done US big law and found a non big-law opportunity abroad (in-house or otherwise), particularly in London/UK (but I would also consider other markets as well).

For those that have gone in-house abroad, how did you go about finding your job? Did you use a recruiter, job message board, etc.? I've been speaking with a London recruiter, but they only place in firms. Are you at an international company or a US company with an office abroad?

As for salaries, I know that London firms can vary, with some paying market and others paying more for a JD/US degree. From what I've seen, many in-house US positions are around $125k. Is this something to expect abroad too, particularly with someone who has a JD?

Lastly, without getting into the debate on the ideal time to leave a firm, would you recommend lateraling to the market you want to be in, i.e. London in this case, working at a firm for a year or so and then looking for an exit option? Or are there opportunities available directly from an exit from a US firm?